This blog began through a NIFA grant for Missouri Beginning Farmers. It continues today as a way for beginning farmers to learn about new ideas and to hear about upcoming events of interest. It is maintained by Debi Kelly (kellyd@missouri.edu).

Missouri Beginning Farmers website

Subscribe To

About Me

As an Extension Associate with the University of Missouri, I work with beginning farmers, small farms, alternative agriculture and organic farming. I am also the Co-coordinator for the Missouri Sustainable Agriculture and Research (SARE) Education Professional Development Program (PDP).

Followers

Monday, April 21, 2014

Experience Helps Restaurant Managers Stick with Local Foods

Past
decisions to purchase local foods increases the likelihood that chefs and food
purchasing managers continue to buy local products.

Restaurant
chefs and food purchasing managers who have bought local foods in the past are
more likely to continue adding them to menus and store shelves, according to a
team of researchers.

"Past
experiences will have an impact on buying local foods," said Amit Sharma,
associate professor of hospitality management, Penn State. "Restaurant
managers who buy local foods currently are significantly more likely to keep
purchasing locally."

In
a study of the cost and benefits of purchasing local foods in restaurants,
managers and chefs indicated that certain actions of local food producers stand
out as reasons why they continue to buy local foods. For instance, managers
said that a local farmer's or producer's response time -- the time it took a
business to respond and process an order -- was more important than delivery
time -- how long it takes to actually receive the goods -- as a factor when
they considered buying local food products.

"Interestingly,
we did not find that delivery time mattered as much for those who purchased
food, not to say that delivery time wasn't a concern at all," said Sharma.
"However, what was more important to these managers was the response time
of a local food producer."

Food
purchasers also indicated that they would not stock local food just because it
is local. Local foods must have a unique selling point, according to the
researchers, who report their findings in current issue of the International
Journal of Hospitality Management.

For
instance, a special variety apple used in an apple pie may be more important to
the food manager than just a locally grown apple.

"Simply
saying 'local food' was not enough, chefs really want to provide their
customers with a dish that is unique," said Sharma. "You can't just
slap a label on it that says it's 'local', and expect it to sell, in other
words."

While
many studies have explored the reasons that customers would want local food,
this study was focused on management's buying decisions.

"We're
not discounting customer demand, we recognize that consumers have to want it --
in fact our previous studies suggest consumers are willing to pay more for
local foods," said Sharma. "But the manager has to make decisions
before the food is served."

Clear
labeling is another selling point for restaurant managers who are purchasing
foods in grocery stores and markets. The labels should be accurate and easy to
read, containing specifications including weight, date and product details, for
example, according to Sharma, who worked with Joonho Moon, doctoral student in
hospitality management, Penn State, and Catherine Strohbehn, state extension
specialist and adjunct professor in apparel, events and hospitality management,
Iowa State University.

Training
staff to handle local foods properly and to communicate the advantages of local
foods with customer was also an important factor that could explain the
decision to purchase local foods.

"Training
tells us a lot about the commitment of an operation to local foods," said
Sharma. "Local foods may or may not be delivered or processed in the same
way as non-local foods, so the staff should be trained and, particularly, chefs
need to be trained in developing unique menus using local foods."

Managers
did not seem to think food safety was an issue with handling local food.

"That's
not to say food safety isn't important to managers, it just isn't an obstacle
to purchasing locally," said Sharma. "It's not a constraint."

The
researchers sent surveys to independently owned restaurants in Midwestern
states to investigate management's attitudes toward the decision to purchase
locally grown foods.

"In
this project, we investigated the cost-benefit analysis of restaurants
purchasing local foods, along the foodservice value chain, which ranged from
the sourcing of local food all the way to serving local foods to
customers," said Sharma.

The
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University supported
this work.